1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data processing systems and in particular to microcontroller based computers. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for isolating faulty components in a microcontroller based computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the complexity of computers and servers containing multiple processors increases, it is advantageous to use microcontrollers to perform initialization and service operations, including error detection and isolation. In such microcontroller controlled servers, the reliability of the system is dependant on the reliability of the microcontroller. It is therefore advantageous to use two or more microcontrollers to provide redundancy and avoid a single point of failure.
Typically, when using redundant microcontrollers, one microcontroller is designated as the primary microcontroller and the remaining controller or controllers are designated as backup microcontrollers. However, if the primary microcontroller itself has a fault, the microcontroller may erroneously diagnose the server hardware it is controlling as having a fault, resulting in working hardware being replaced while leaving the faulty microcontroller to generate more erroneous diagnoses.